White to Brown...

Here's a post without pictures. I'm just not inspired by the color of my surroundings these days. I'll take some photos when the dominant color begins changing from brown to green. It's only recently gone from white to brown. We had snow cover from before Christmas until about a week ago!

This is my second spring living in MA. It definitely comes a couple weeks later here than in NJ. There have been a few nice days though. Last Thursday and Friday I spent some time raking and cleaning the gardens (although they need lots more work!) Over the weekend, I worked on the front garden with the family. I dug out some saplings under a bush that sends out suckers and the kids planted them in another part of the yard.

Snowdrops and a few crocuses are blooming. There are daffodil shoots growing taller every day. But there is still lots of brown grass, brown twigs, grey skies and mud.

I'm inside the house feeling the need to bring on spring with some spring cleaning. I stripped our bed down to the mattress this morning. Right now the thick king size mattress cover is in the washer. I keep having to run to the washer and try to change the balance of the load. It keeps pounding and banging like a drum. Boom Booom Boooom boom
booom boom boom boom boom boomboomboom....

Is this the drum role welcoming spring?

Update: an hour or so after writing this.....It's snowing!

Mothering like a Lioness

Here's another series of photos from our DC trip. A cool February day was a very good one to visit a zoo. I used to take the kids to the Bronx Zoo often in the summers when we lived in NJ. But, I guess animals feel a lot like us on hot summer days. They mostly slept. The animals were on the move at the National Zoo in late winter though.

We got to witness some lion family love. Early in the morning the male lion was in one large pen and two females were in another. When we headed back to see the cub showing around lunch time, the females were pacing eagerly at the door of their enclosure. Soon doors were opened and the females along with their seven 3-to-4-month-old cubs (from 2 litters) entered the male's enclosure.

Airplane Art

This past week we headed to Washington, DC to see the sites. My son and husband are big technology fans and wanted to see the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Annex at Dulles Airport. I didn't think it would be too exciting for me. I would have rather headed to an art museum. But surprisingly, beautiful art was all around. The elegance that helps planes soar requires simplicity of design and shape. The planes and the way they were hung in the architecturally refined hanger building was striking indeed!

This photo essay is inspired by the photo essays at A Little Light Reading, one of my favorite blogs.

I'm Not Superstitious

If I were a more superstisious person, I'd think I should stop blogging now. For, as soon as I put showed photos of Doug's beautiful painting work around the house in my last post, down came the water.

Here now is the lovely yellow paint bubbled from water seepage.


Here's the dormer occupied by towels and buckets and toil to remove ice dams and snow.
Here's Doug at night trying to hack at the ice out the window with a hoe.

Here he is outside in the day with his longest tools.

Soon we'll need a longer yard stick.


The deep snow does have its beauty for some...


Here's the view above from the bottom of the hill toward the house. This was last May, and the daffodils were blooming in profusion. I'm trying to imagine them now gaining strength to make it the most welcome spring ever!

At Wisecraft, her hellbores are emerging. Thanks for the inspiration.

Colored Corners of my Home

Inspired by this post from Soulemama, here's an updated corner of my home... the improving entryway. For a year after we moved here our shoes went into a cardboard box left over from the move. After a year I found some unfinished book cases on sale that looked promising as shoe boxes. With some paint and cut pieces of plastic runner, they are looking fine.


Recently colors have been entering the house covering the super white walls and greyish trim left by the previous owners. Roman shades have appeared in the library, our bedroom and stairwell, and the entryway. Doug has painted the hall and garden room a lovely yellow (Sherwin Williams banana cream) and sage green (Sherwin Williams garden sage) is appearing here and there.

Mud room toward garden room view (note shade in top center, a pretty green to gold stripe). I got all the shades from Smith + Noble. A great designer came out and showed me fabric samples right in the house. He did all the measurements too. It was terrific. I had been having a lot of trouble going to stores and trying to picture what the fabrics would look like in the house.


Garden room close up with yellow walls and sage table. The desk is from my childhood bedroom.

Yellow walls also enliven the hallway, with the beautiful mirror my mom got me in Italy.


And the upstairs portion of the hallway showing the bedroom/stairwell roman shades.

The house is feeling so much warmer with these colors although the outdoors is very cold and snowy! This picture was taken before the last 16 inch storm. And another heavy storm is forecast for Wednesday.

Moved by the Music

Last sunday's service at our Unitarian Universalist church honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with music. It included 8 songs. Each one spurs the singers or listeners to action either to protest evil, war, and violence or to promote peace. I loved this service I hope it inspires action in me.

We all sang If I Had a Hammer, Where Have All the Flowers Gone and Turn Turn Turn by Pete Seeger.

One of the hymns was My Life Flows on in Endless Song. It is a beautiful uplifting song well known and sung strongly by the congregation. Enya has a beautiful version found here with Lord of the Rings Elf photos (a bit kooky, but I love it).
Here are the words to the final verse:

When tyrants tremble as they hear the bells of freedom ringing,
When friends rejoice both far and near how can I keep from singing
To prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging;
When friends by shame are undefiled how can I keep from singing.

The choir did a great job singing the spiritual Wade in the Water. If I close my eyes I can see Alvin Ailey's dance Revelations when I hear this song.

Here's the portion of Alvin Ailey's Revelations to Wade in the Water. Seeing this work live is life changing. One of my dreams is that I could have been present when this dance was presented for the first time. One of my best memories is the first time I saw the dance live. I went with my best friend from high school whose father was a cellist in the orchestra. We sat high in the sloped seats of City Center (or was it the Joyce Theater) in NYC. I was overwhelmed by the music, the dance, the passion of the audience. My body was echoing the movements. If you'd like, check out some videos of other portions of the dance, This is beautiful all stillness, strength and poise especially dance beginning at 5:45. For power, jumps, muscles and celebration try This! Imagine the entire audience clapping and cheering and swaying through that dance that begins at minute 7. Or even better, SEE IT LIVE!

Finally, John Lennon's Imagine was performed. The piano was played by the church's music director and the Minister read the lyrics to the music. A church where the minister can suggest that the world would be a more peaceful place without religion is the church for me.

And this is what you find when you spend a snowy freezing day searching the web: Bill Clinton singing Imagine with Jewish and Arab children. Here.

Snow Day

Like the rest of the eastern US, here come the snow photos.

No school today (very rare in this town). Doug worked from home too. We measured a good 14" around the house, but there were definite areas where wind blew it higher. The snow was heavy and wet. It stuck to the trees in a beautiful way. Walked up the hill to play with friends. Hot chocolate with peppermint flavored Christmas marshmallow Peeps! Homemade broccoli soup for dinner.

It's as quiet as it looks.

Until the kids come out to play.


They are getting so grown up. Both my kids are now "double digits".

Renee with her friend G. You can see the snow falling and the wind blowing.

Thanks for clearing the steps, Jack.


Love how this snow sticks to the trees.

Doug measures the late afternoon accumulation.

And remember this little light brown cow:


Here she is less than a year later...

Hope you are having a fun and restful snow day too.